Gossip and Celebrate

This group of us got together regularly mainly for gossips over meals, but this time we tagged in another reason of celebrating with our friend GB, as if we need any other excuse to eat and drink. G graciously scored us a private room at West Villa when the restaurant in our original plan was shut because of typhoon – a blessing in disguise as it turned out. 

A Spectacular Omakase Show

Since late last year, what used to be called Sushi Ta-ke has gone through quite a transformation from a cozy sushi-ya at Cubus to a new, much bigger location on the ground floor of Lee Garden shopping mall not far away. And in addition to sushi which they still offer at a longer counter, they also had separate sections for teppanyaki and tempura, making this one of the few in town that offers high-end Japanese fare in such wide variety of dishes and cooking styles.

New Shanghainese Restaurant

Recently I was at a new restaurant called 10 Shanghai at Lee Gardens for my 3rd Shanghainese meal in a week over lunch. There’s been a few restaurant openings in this Causeway Bay neighborhood recently thanks to the series of renovation and new constructions and here’s one specializing in Shanghainese/Huaiyang cuisine, taking up the space on the ground floor of Lee Gardens Two shopping mall/office complex.

Sunday Brunch Alfresco

The unintentional series of Sunday brunches continues, this time at Seasons in Causeway Bay's Lee Garden. With such mild and pleasant weather now that winter is (almost) officially over, we couldn't have picked a better day to sit outside at the terrace of the restaurant in the midst of a busy shopping district and chill. I have been to this place a couple of times in recent months and enjoyed many of Chef Olivier's dishes here, and this latest promotion obviously struck a chord with many local customers, as it was packed on the day of our visit.

Speedy Fine-Dining Lunch

As I was quickly winding down my current gig, I let myself a bit loose and went off for lunch at Seasons a couple MTR stops away. It was only my first time coming here during the day and I immediately noticed the big difference in the clientele and atmosphere – during day-time the place certainly felt more like a power lunch spot rather than as a restaurant for an intimate night out sort of a venue.

Dinner with Unexpected Guests

Only when I checked my blog archive did I realize it's been almost 4 months since we had a wonderful dinner at Seasons in Causeway Bay last time - it certainly felt like yesterday, or at least not that long ago. Given the last experience we had it would be hard to say no when they invited us back for a tasting of their new summer menu recently.

Fine Dining in Causeway Bay

The dinner at Seasons with the CHF gang must have been in the planning for weeks, as it became more and more challenging to find a timeslot to fit everyone's busy schedule. But we finally pulled it off on a weeknight in early April.

The restaurant represent a rare breed of fine-dining French restaurants not affiliated with one of the luxury hotels in town, but instead located inside an upscale shopping mall in Causeway Bay. Chef Olivier Elzer has built up his reputation in the local dining scene since opening this restaurant a few years ago, with the restaurant earning its first Michelin star in late 2014 and kept it since.